


Under Control

by DeCarabas



Series: Fugitives Together [4]
Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 15:00:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16834951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeCarabas/pseuds/DeCarabas
Summary: Anders' first trip to the Circle under templar guard; Hawke's first encounter with Justice. For the prompt: "Scorched."





	Under Control

That first night on the road to the Circle, chains around his wrists, the boy who would later call himself Anders tried to get the templars to listen to him - _I just won’t use magic, I won’t, I don’t even want to, I promise -_ that he’d ignore it like he always had before, that they could let him go home, that he could control himself.

“It was control set your barn on fire, then?”

And that wasn’t fair - he shouldn’t have fallen asleep instead of finishing the chores but that’s all he did, just took a break; it was just a stupid nightmare, everyone got nightmares, and he put it out, didn’t he, and no one got hurt and it was fine, it would have been fine.

“All right, kid. I’ll tell you what. I like you. I want to believe you. But you’ve got to help me out here. You show me how well you can control yourself, and I’ll let you go.”

The one templar was smiling when he said it, and the other templar laughed. They didn’t even try to pretend it was a serious offer.

But they just had to know, they agreed, that he wasn’t going to use the magic the next time he had a bad dream, or picked a fight, or stubbed his toe, or got stung by a bee, or got scared. If he could be scared for his life and still not use the magic, _then_ he could be trusted to go home, to not burn the barn down the next time he got tired and fell asleep in the wrong place.

“I’m trying to help you. But if I was trying to kill you - and I don’t want to do that unless you make me - I think you’d use the magic.”

That wasn’t fair. If it was magic or death, what kind of a choice was that?

But he swore he wouldn’t, and he didn’t, not until there were spots in front of his eyes from the lack of air, until he couldn’t see and the gauntlet around his neck still wouldn’t move, and this wasn’t really a test at all.

It wasn’t even fire he reached for this time, he just wanted to make the templar _move_ \- and then as soon as he reached for it the magic was gone, like a wall slamming down on top of him, cutting him off and crushing him beneath it, and he was on the ground.

“And there you are. You see, kid? You’re all right. As long as you’ve got us, I promise you, we won’t let the magic get out of control.”

It hurt to swallow. It hurt to try to talk.

* * *

“I can’t control it. My anger.” Anders won’t look directly at Hawke. “A mage who can’t control himself is the whole justification for the Circles, for…” He rubs at his forehead as if he has a headache. “Shit.”

For Tranquility, Hawke thinks, filling in the blanks. For Karl.

He feels like he’s forced a confidence from Anders. This justice spirit is a secret Hawke hadn’t been meant to see. He’s known the man for one night; he shouldn’t be hearing any of this, wouldn’t be hearing it if he hadn’t been at the wrong - right? - place at the wrong time. But.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Hawke confesses, and Anders stops staring at the clinic floor, gives him an uncertain look.

Like a contained storm let loose - and Maker, Hawke’s own fire all around him, right in the middle of the Hightown chantry, leaving scorch marks on the fancy carpet.

He felt like he’d slipped off his leash.


End file.
